The BN are the pooing machines. That’s why I got rid of them from my tank, I grew tired of the masses of poo. There is enough just from the discus!
I have a 55 gal with:
- six 4-5" discus
- one 3" BN pleco
- twelve cardinal tetras
- two serbai corys
Everybody is healthy and happy. I do a couple of 40-50% WCs a week. I have a thin sand bottom. I feed on the light side -- once in the morning and once at night. I have almost no algae so I give the pleco a sinking wafer every night.
Here is the thing: I could vacuum that thing spotless and in 12 hours, it looks like a cesspool on the bottom. The attached pic does not do it justice. I notice that the discus poop out a plug about 1/4" in diameter. The poop gathering on the bottom looks finer than that.
So I'm wondering - in your experience, do the tetras poop a ton? I know plecos can poop a lot so is this mostly the BN and/or corys? Is it everybody contributing?
Do those of you with discus-only tanks and moderate feeding schedules find that discus alone are excessive poopers?
Curious about your thoughts.
Last edited by Oxboy; 01-27-2020 at 09:27 PM.
The BN are the pooing machines. That’s why I got rid of them from my tank, I grew tired of the masses of poo. There is enough just from the discus!
I only have poop like that in tanks with the "pooping machines". The other tanks are much cleaner. One can make a lot of poop.
It could be some left over wafer in that mess also. Try a half wafer & see if that makes a difference also the pleco will eat other left over food.
To placate my wife, I painted all the sides - except the front - of my barebottom tanks a light blue. Man, does that make the poop really "pop"!
Willie
At my age, everything is irritating.
I see wood in your pic. I find that all plecos eat wood as part of their diet. I bet what you are seeing on the sand is a whole lot of wood he ate and pooped out. Had that happen with one of my plecos, the wood got smaller and smaller as he ate it away.
Herbivores poop more!
And that goes for fish too More fiber!
My vote for best title of the month!
-Elliot